Armageddon
by Heartless demon wolf
Summary: It was on the eve of Starfire's twentieth birthday when everything was annihilated, Jump City in ruins, friends and foe alike murdered...all for interfering in a monster's plan. Once separated, we are forced to unite under a single cause: Taking the life of a demon lord. Rating will change as story goes on, very heavy BB/Star and Cy/Jinx, light Robin/Raven depending on reviews.
1. Betrayed for a righteous cause

Once proud and structurally sound was the fair town of Jump City, California, it was a utopia for heroes and apparently very intelligent, savagely named villains who tried to obtain control of the homeland belonging to five of the most famous names in the world, even outside of the planet, they knew.

Now in the very eyes of the people who tried to save it, it was eradicated before them, rubble, mounds of dust, destroyed shops and even mountains of ashes due to the millions of lives taken, all in a single measly span of three hours was what they had accomplished trying to save it, their reward for always playing 'hero' it seemed.

The rise of a mask was lifted with surprise, enraged and horror etched on the owner's face before the mask settled back into place as he clenched the charcoal remains of a handrail, right before it like all else before him disintegrated in his palms forcing him to ball his hand into a fist while the tears ran down his cheeks ever so slowly.

"Why?" He questioned in a whisper unheard by the few around him, his friends that he had known for seven years standing where they had always stood, behind the leader.

"Why did you do it!" He roared as the young man turned behind him to face the culprits, two long standing allies who he had known for years, both beaten, bleeding with multiple cuts and bruises around their bodies.

"Robin, please if you only listen to them for one-" A montone, sadden voice interrupted before he could finish his words but he would not be denied his answers.

"It's Nightwing now, Raven, get it?! They didn't deserve this, no one fucking deserved this!" He shouted, spreading one arm behind him so that all would understand what they could clearly see with their own eyes.

"We had no choice." A soft tone answered back, broken and riddled with guilt and a great amount of shame.

"Everyone has a choice in their actions, Argent, everyone! Don't give me that-"

"We had no goddamn choice, Robin, she is right, we tried to do all we possibly could to halt our attack but-

"It's Nightwing!" He screamed into the air before looking to the other accomplice of such destruction and carnage.

Panting heavily, Nightwing placed his hands on his hips and looked at the gray, ominous clouds that reign over the sky.

"Dick," Raven's voice caught his ears forcing him to tear his gaze from the sky to her, who gently placed a hand on his shoulder "Red Star is right…I can sense they are telling the truth. They didn't have a choice in the matter, no say in what would become of our home." She shakily spoke, making him wrap an arm around her waist as she slowly with a moment of hesitation placed her head on his shoulder, allowing a small tear to trail from her left eye down her face.

"So you're telling me, all this bullshit started because these two were forced?! Starfire almost fucking died!" A screech of rage vibrated through the silence before the two heroes looked towards the green changeling who was near a very critically injured Tamaran princess who was unconscious but tightly holding Beast Boy's hand, as if her very life depended on it.

"Koriand'r, please come back to me, don't leave me Kory, please. Don't leave me like Terra did, I can't lose you, I'll die before I lose you, please Star." He whispered softly into her right ear but she barely stirred in her slumber.

"I did all I could Beast Boy, I swear. But we need to get her to a hospital and with the T-Ship destroyed and no hospital within miles there is not much any of us can do." Raven spoke trying to reach the damaged young man but he ignored her, and releasing his girlfriend's or 'mate' as Starfire called it hand slowly took out a pack of Blazing Trail cigarettes from his back blue jean pocket along with a green lighter.

Taking one out and igniting it, he inhaled the nicotine deeply before exhaling the gray smoke through his nose, his eyes never leaving Starfire's fragile form. He had stopped wearing his leotard now that he was older, his green hair down brought down to his shoulders and simply dressed in a skull with crossbones black t-shirt and blue jeans was the only clothing he had left now, even if it was dirty, burnt and ripped, his arms having two long, razor like swirling tribal tattoos from his wrists to his shoulders and his face stricken with pain and suffering at the state of his girlfriend.

"She didn't deserve this, you mother-"

"None of us did, man. None of us!" A deep sounding tone snapped through the air as Beast Boy turned to his best friend, Cyborg who sat on a large, black colored rock with his hands between his head.

The half-man, half-machine had tears freely flowing from his human eye before he swiftly closed it, feeling a petite ash colored hand on his shoulder, making him reach and grab the hand with one of his own tenderly, rubbing the knuckles of the owner slowly while placing his head on his other, mechanical hand.

"Victor-"

"It's over Jinx, don't you get it. Look at this place, look at us!" Cyborg yelled lifting his face to the sky, biting his bottom lip as he was overcome with a range of emotions, none of them optimistic.

"Why God? Why did you have to do this to us!" Cyborg screamed into the air with all the oxygen his body could provide.

"God had nothing to do with this, Cy…I doubt he even cared." Beast Boy's icy tone sent shivers down the grown man's spine and he stood up, a look of desperation and anger on his face before his body slumped down and he wept in his girlfriend's arms.

Jinx held Cyborg's body weight with as much strength as she could, which was no easy task but she knew as did all of them, that they were now truly lost and alone. Her physical appearance had not changed much in the four years she had been apart of the Teen Titans, merely having a large spell tattoo meaning hexed on her back and two diamond earrings she had gotten from her boyfriend for their one year anniversary was all that had changed, other than that and that she now seemed to be the one with the spine in their relationship because of this trial, nothing had changed.

"It was supposed to be an easy, cheerful day! For God's sake it's Starfire's twentieth birthday." Beast Boy wailed to no one in particular as all five of the Titans remained silent looking at disheveled, young body of their friend, breathing but faintly making her mate lay down at her side and hold her body close to his chest.

"Tell me then, why us? Why now? Have you both lost your fucking marbles?!" Nightwing yelled at the two defeated, fallen allies before him, Red Star on his knees, no words leaving his mouth forcing Argent to answer.

"He was going to destroy our homes, he told us to wipe everything you held dear out and then once you were truly broken, to end your lives, Nightwing please understand, our very countries were at stake, all of Russia and New Zealand were at fucking stake, Robin!" She screamed the last words, torn from her throat like a knife ripping into her flesh she panted, on her hands and knees before them with her own remorse pouring from her soul, staining the dirt with her tears.

"Who did this? None of our enemies have this much-"

'Trigon." Was the only word powerful enough to stop Nightwing from uttering another word from his lips.

"That's bullshit, Trigon was thrown back into the prison dimension, Raven did it herself, we were there, it must have been Slade-"

"Slade's entire body was crushed in front of our eyes, damn it! All we saw remaining was his mask, which Trigon stepped on, reducing it to scraps of plastic, Please, listen to me...Slade offered himself willingly to Trigon to aid in the destruction of the world, and he...he killed him as a testament to what would happen if we disobeyed him. We had no choice!" Argent yelled before she vomited on the ground, faint and weary with the battle the Titans had been compelled to do they watched as she slipped into unconscious in her own bile.

Red Star was one former ally they knew they would get no word out of, so they left the two where they laid and re grouped near Starfire's injured body, Beast Boy refusing to move as he tossed the remains of his cigarette away from him and then turned into a grizzly bear to keep her warm in his fur.

"What do you suggest we do?" Cyborg questioned looking at the leader who had resigned from the Titans once they had reached the age of eighteen but was now and with unquestioned loyalty towards his friends made to be their shield through such a heavy struggle, millions of lives cost at their hands.

"W...we need to get help from the other Titans, We need to form an army capable of standing up to Trigon and we need to bring him down...permanently." Nightwing answered looking into the eyes of all his teammates minus Starfire before staring into the eyes of his girlfriend who nodded.

"He's right, my father has gone to far, this act shall not go unpunished." She spoke with such spite and passion that it gave hope to them all, even if it was for a fleeting moment.

"Can't you remember how hard it was to beat him last time though? I mean we got our asses handed to us, even with an army...how can we stop him?" Beast Boy's voice lingered in the air in front of their feet making Raven's head drop in depression, her confidence shattered by reality.

"I don't know." Was all that was whispered slowly between her lips before Nightwing gently held her hand and intertwined their fingers together.

"Our home...along with everything else, ruined. We lost it all, guys...everything." Cyborg's dark tone did nothing to lift their spirits but he was right, even their T-Communictors were broken in the bloody fight to the death, the six doing what they could to save their own lives and the lives of any innocent soul they could, all for naught it appeared.

"We have to do...something." A pain stricken voice whispered, tearing all of them from their deep thoughts making them all look into the open but serious eyes of Starfire.

Beast Boy did the only thing that came to his mind, he kissed Starfire with the most passionate, loving kissed he could muster, every single ounce of emotion in his lips touching his lover's to which she weakly responded to with all her heart, nothing in the world could separate the two from their moment of bliss, one they had not shared since they gave themselves to each other for the very first time, three years ago.

"It good to see your still kicking, Star." Jinx smiled as she and the other Titans helped the grown alien to her feet, who stumbled and gasped in pain that racked through her body, she was still not fully recovered but thanks to Raven, for now it was enough, her attire had not changed much but her physical appearance was a different matter.

She had her native language for love and family tattooed on her back, a small silver belly button ring in her navel and her hair was streaked with black to represent her respect for her sister, even for all the crimes she had done, Blackfire was still family and Beast Boy told her she looked sexy with the highlights.

"I missed you very much, Garfield." She whispered into his right ear while he laid kisses on her neck before someone cleared their throat, causing her to awkwardly blush at all the eyes surrounding them.

"And friends." She added with a slight giggle making the team chuckle and roll their eyes at the embarrassed alien.

Though very brief in their amusement with each other, the Titans knew they had missed one another, not being together for almost two years now after Nightwing quit.

Their laughter slowly dwindled to a stop as they surveyed the devastating landscape around them, their faces becoming much more serious at all that had transpired in the last twenty four hours.

"We have to end this guys...one way or another." Nightwing said with such conviction and clarity that it inspired the hope they had lost trying to save their city, Robin or rather Nightwing was back, the Titans could not afford this showdown to be their last, they owed their city that much.

"We must absolve for our sins, we can not let the great people of this planet down." Starfire rallied with her fist suspended into the air.

First Beast Boy, then one by one five hands joined with the other, clasped together in a vow that they would right their wrongs, they would atone for allowing their great city to parish for not having the strength to fight back their former comrades, they would gather their resources and allies and give their final breath for their planet.

Trigon has not won yet, the war was just getting started.

"Soooo….we're back?" Beast Boy softly asked looking at the very rock that kept them stable for so many years of toil, blood, sweat and tears.

"Yeah...we're back."


	2. Lost souls and broken hearts

Though older and wiser in their exports, they knew not to underestimate their foe forcing all of them to become more cautious and alert for any signs of the demon's presence.

"So what the hell do we do with these two?" Beast Boy questioned pointing back with his thumb towards their former comrades.

Nightwing let out a heavy breath as he overlooked the two Titans, his mind plagued with the thought of ending their lives, if only for what they had done but it was merely a thought of revenge which would not change the fate of their town, they all knew that.

"Guess we have no choice but to let them go, they never asked for this and even if we did lock them up, it won't change bringing back any of the lives they took...besides, their guilt and remorse will shatter their souls and minds soon enough, they done their job and saved their countries, lured us out I guess. I doubt Trigon has much use for failure but I'm guessing he has bigger matters on his mind." He spoke somberly, walking up before waking Argent and helping Red Star to his feet.

"W...we can help you, you know." Argent whispered softly causing Nightwing to shake his head and place a hand on both their shoulders.

"You'll let your emotions get the best of you, we both know that. Much as we wish there was another way, we can't change the past, and your futures are looking pretty bleak as it is, I'm not going to throw you in jail, you'll get the death penalty immediately, but you're off the Titans, I'll make sure of that personally." Nightwing responded forcing Argent to her knees, tears trailing down her face which Nightwing ignored.

"We're sorry, we never meant-"

"I know, Red Star...I'm sorry, but it's a more noble punishment then you deserve, and even if we tried to lock you up, you could just as easily break out with your powers, Cyborg does not have the technology to neutralize your powers and we don't have the time to hand you over to the cops...go, before I regret my decision." He answered firmly as the two could only nod before lifting off into the air, and flying away, Argent after a second of hesitation floated back down to Nightwing and kissed his cheek.

"We don't deserve your mercy." She whispered before joining Red Star into the air and away from sight.

"No...you honestly don't." Nightwing thought before touching his cheek where she had kissed him and placing it back to his side turned towards his loyal friends.

"What do we do now, Friend Nightwing?" Starfire asked looking over the once enchanting paradise before feeling Beast Boy's arms softly wrap around her waist making her tighten their embrace, not wanting to cause him such a scare like last time as he put his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes, waiting for this nightmare to be nothing more than a dream, though he knew it was very real.

"Now," Nightwing took a deep breath and exhaled loudly, placing his arms around his head and interlacing his fingers, thinking of their next move.

"Now we try to gather any allies willing to travel into the prison dimension and end Trigon's life, if it comes to that," He replied hesitantly, be well aware that all matter of killing was wrong even those who deserved it, yet Trigon had to face justice.

"If I was just able to get to my tech, we could call all the Titans but even my baby, the T-Car," Jinx cleared her throat loudly forcing Cyborg to correct himself "Um, my second baby that is was reduced to scrap metal...for all we know we may be the only Titans left, if Trigon did not...dispose of them that is." He muttered looking over the ocean to their obliterated home, melting and demolished beyond any hope of salvation, they could not return for a very long amount of time.

"We have to try something, there must be some way to make contact with at least one of the groups." Raven wondered out loud causing Cyborg to slap a curled hand into his open palm.

"I got it, we can salvage any tech not burnt to a crisp from the city, there has to be something in there we can use, we then rally our forces and Raven can send us-"

"What makes you think I have the strength to send an army through a portal?" Raven snarled eyeing the robotic man with an intense glare causing him to shrink under her gaze before sighing with defeat, closing his human eye and placing an open hand upon his forehead.

"I'm sorry, Rae...I only suggested-"

"Well you're wrong...I don't have the kind of power, but I think we may know someone who does." Raven continued making all of them look at their friend and smile.

"Herald."

It was in no way, shape or form a solid lead but if their friend would help them and rise to the occasion then it was a lead all the same, none the less there was still the matter of actually contacting their allies, a fact they were very determined to achieve.

If with such a reveal though, they needed the technology to call upon their friends, making them travel to the ruined city, trying their best to ignore the burning homes and skeletons of all manner of human and animals alike around them, Beast Boy being force to shield Starfire from the carnage while Cyborg held Jinx's hand tight as they wandered on, Nightwing observing the city he had failed to protect while walking ahead of the group as Raven flew above, emotionless but feeling pangs of guilt tug at her heart.

"We did all we could to save them-"

"If only we had been there sooner-"

"Such innocent souls did not deserve this-"

"We should have been there...we should have known-"

"My father will pay for this, I swear on my life, he will pay for what he has-"

"What kind of hero am I to let the city we saved again and again go to hell? Batman must be so disappointed in me-"

Their inner thoughts overlapped the other, all with the same common rage and sorrow of what they had allowed, despite their best efforts they knew Jump City was doomed, their fates cursed will the millions of souls staining their hands.

After a time, Starfire, with a kiss on Beast Boy's cheek, left him to fly to Raven knowing he did not want to witness any more of the slaughter that took place in the air with her as Jinx released her hand and travel ahead of Cyborg, leaving him to his thoughts, knowing all of them were suffering and not able to change their fate.

"Friend Raven." Starfire's sad voice caught her friend's ear, the half demon looking over her shoulder as they flew and then looked back in front, waiting for her to speak.

"I...thank you, for shielding us all in time from Red Star's super nova bomb, if not for you, we all could have-"

"Don't worry about it, Starfire….I only had enough strength to erect a barrier for the six of us, it was the only logical conclusion, you know I would have done so for-"

"I know….thank you, Friend Raven for saving our lives." Starfire replied gently, making Raven only nod before racing on ahead for any thing able to aid them on their journey.

Three hours later they were no where near their goal, hungry, angry at themselves and tired they chose to set up camp, Beast Boy, Cyborg and Robin volunteering to find any food still edible as the woman were left to start a fire and use slabs of rock for temporary tents, finding no traces of fabric for blankets or beds they had no choice but to sleep on the ground.

An hour after the men left, they returned with a small pile of cans that had miraculously survived the waste land, unfortunately the cans consisted only of two cans green beans, one can of peaches, one of chicken noodle soup and one of mixed fruit, though they were grateful nonetheless for anything that could fill their rumbling stomachs.

After a very heated argument over the peaches and mixed fruit, they had decided to split both cans in half, all six members only getting small portions of the delicacy but in all honestly it was better than nothing and they were able to quench their thirst with the juices from said cans, though only able to take mere sips.

With the main course finished, Cyborg and Nightwing had almost gotten into a brawl over the soup before agreeing to split it as well while Raven, Beast Boy and Starfire enjoyed the two cans of green beans, leaving the left overs for the two hot headed males.

Though not satisfied with their meal, again they were nevertheless grateful as they stood by the campfire and reminisced on happier days, laughing and enjoying each others company.

The sun sank down below the fallen city while the moon rose and the wind began to nip upon their skin causing each of them to shiver slightly, cuddling close to their love ones until one by one they departed into their 'tents', Cyborg and Jinx being the first to retire for the night, Raven shortly after while Beast Boy went off a distance to enjoy a cigarette leaving Nightwing and Starfire to themselves in silence.

Though the two parted their romantic relationship on an agreed and mature note, it still left a bit of a soft spot for the two when they were alone, raw wounds that neither felt like sharing at such a hollow and dark point in time at the moment, yet Nightwing felt it was necessary to repair their friendship before they started to simply, lose contact with one another.

"You know-"

"Friend Nightwing-"

Both spoke simultaneously before nervously looking away, embarrassed, the eerie silence doing nothing to help their words flow more smoothly from their lips.

Sighing loudly, Nightwing felt it best to continue before they both lost their nerve and retreated into their tents.

"Star...tell me honestly, was Beast Boy the only one there to comfort you when I told you that it may have just been hormones causing me to chase after you for so long? You know I care for you, really...but did we really have that much in common when you think about it?" He questioned slowly, choosing his words carefully so he did not offend her, but Starfire was not in the least angry with what he said.

"No, you speak only the truth, we were teenages, Friend Nightwing, we had no real grasp at the concept of romance during the time and as I told you during our breaking of the up as you call it, we were drawn towards those who shared our interest, and you have no reason to feel guilt over our separation, we both agreed that we should remain nothing more than friends, and even though she will not admit it, Raven is happy to be with you just as I am overjoyed to be with my mate...don't try to fix something if it is not broken, as Friend Cyborg once told me." She replied quietly with a smile making Nightwing chuckle and smile himself.

As the two stood and hugged for a long time to release any bitter feelings of regret or longing they once held for the other Beast Boy walked towards the camp, hugging them both causing them all to laugh loudly into the night air before the couple went to bed themselves and Nightwing looked up into the sky with a smile, a feeling of relief washing over him and a stirring of peace he had not felt in a long time as he walked to his girlfriend's tent and curled up next to her making her smile slowly which went unnoticed by the masked man as he fell asleep.

The rain came swiftly and without warning the next day, though the sun casted it's heated gaze on the heroes, it did nothing to quill the harsh winds or rain soaking through their clothes, forcing them to find a decent shelter, though they were still no closer to their goal.

Disregarding both the approaching storm and meger state of their surroundings, they observed the quite large shelter around them, noticing nothing out of the ordinary until a voice spoke quietly among one of the rocks, instantly making all of them on alert for threats.

"Shut up, they can hear us." The voice spoke in a harsh tone as Nightwing aimed his birdarang at the sound.

"Come out now, or face the consequences." He ordered, pausing for a moment while Starfire lit a starbolt to illuminate the area forcing the owner and even more figures to step out from the darkness, making the heroes even more on guard once then were faced to face with the enemies before them.

"Adonis, Atlas, Control Freak, Fang, Kitten, Johnny Rancid, Killer Moth, Mumbo, Doctor Light and See-More. Damn, should have known you all had a way of surviving the blast, way to help out by the way." Beast Boy snarled as he eyed the villains they have fought time and again in the past.

"Calm down BB, they're not worth it, not now anyway." Cyborg spoke firmly as he placed a hand on the young man who snorted and jerked his shoulder away.

"He's right, Beast Boy, chill ok?" Nightwing order softly before looking at their former foes with distrust and a hint of anger.

"Oh boo hoo that we did not bother to risk our lives for this stupid, worthless town, costumed freaks, in case you have not noticed, we were trying to save our own lives while you were too busy getting your asses handed to you." Kitten sneered causing Starfire to float in front of her in rage, both her eyes and hands shining green as she overlooked the human who took a few steps back in fear of the alien.

"Watch your mouth, Kitten, or I may not be so gentle and cause you harm." Starfire threatened forcing the the young woman to gulped visibly in fear, her bravado gone before their eyes while her toned soften in reply.

"You know as much as I do that even if we did help, we couldn't save them all, Starfire." She whispered and dropped to the ground with her head in her arms, tears running down her face making the Titan feel a pang of guilt.

"We never injured or killed anyone you know, we just wanted to be respected, to gain what we believed at the time we rightly deserved, you would have done the same in our position, Titans. We are not as evil as you think, you know." Johnny Rancid muttered as he leaned against a once melted rock beside him, his head down in disappointment making the Titans slowly lower their guards knowing he was right.

What was the use of fighting without an audience or values of material good at stake? It would do nothing but waste their resolve and energy, not to mention be pointless when neither side had anything to gain if they fought even to the death.

"Our hatred for both each other and you are mutual, we get that but right now with all of our beloved city in ashes...we are merely trying to scrape up our pride and survive, same as you, children." Killer Moth sighed loudly as he sat beside his daughter who wept openly in his arms.

The Titans were heart broken, they had never seen their enemies in such a vulnerable and defeated state, it made them feel bad that they had never considered how their rivals would struggle throughout all of this.

"Why didn't you try to escape when you had the chance?" Raven asked calmly not giving eye contact to anyone as Atlas grunted.

"We had no idea where we would go, we knew we would be hunted by the police and other Titans if they knew we were alive...it's not your concern anyway, you did all you could to save everyone, while we cowered in fear and moped once everything had come to a stand still...you did what you could, heroes." He replied and held up a piece of tattered clothing that all the Titans recognized was once worn by his human mechanic, Spike.

"We are sorry for your lost-" Nightwing try to say but Altas ignored him, turned around and walked deeper into their quite specious shelter while Jinx and Starfire rubbed their arms feeling unconformable and Cyborg sighed deeply in regret for the long standing rival, finding a spark of comfort as Jinx held his mechanical hand and intertwined their fingers.

With little to say the other villains merely disputed around a small campfire, traces of opened cans littering the ground and smells of waste assaulting their nostrils which they did not attempt to hide, Fang and Kitten huddled close to each other, leaving Killer Moth to talk briefly with Mumbo and Doctor Light as Johnny Rancid tried to lay down and go to sleep, not bothering to keep his guard up knowing he as they all had nothing to offer to each other.

See-More walked towards Jinx and Cyborg with petite, slow steps and looked into her eyes before shaking his head, knowing without a doubt that Jinx had wondered about her two bestest friends before she joined the Titans and dropped to the dirt on her knees, tears trailing down her face at the lost of the villains who were as close as brothers to her.

Not even taking comfort in Cyborg who tried to wrap his arms around her before she let out an ear piercing shriek of remorse and anger, pounding the ground multiple times before her hands clenched around mud and she sobbed openly, many ignoring the pained cries that emitted from the lost soul or knowing the lost of heartbreak to no be so affected by it anymore, giving Jinx her space.

While Cyborg slowly got to his knees, intertwined his hands together, closing his human eye as he prayed to God, feeling that it was all for naught before he felt his girlfriend's arms wrap around her form as she cried her heart out on his chest, forcing him to hold her tightly to him.

See-More, already having griefed the loss of Gizmo and Mammoth merely walked away and sat before the slowly dimming fire in depression.

Without much to do for a time, the Titans and villains for the first time in their lives sat around as one and told each other about their past, not all, for everyone has their secrets but enough to get a better grasp about the one they fought with so many times, they were not enemies...at least not until their town was rebuilt but it did not make them friends, they were merely lost souls, trying to survive in a desolate wasteland.


End file.
